


Skywalker is a Slave Name

by DopamineLover



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt Anakin Skywalker, I actually just change the scene at Jabba's, Planet Tatooine (Star Wars), References to Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008), Sad Anakin Skywalker, Slave Anakin Skywalker, Tatooine Folklore (Star Wars), Tatooine Slave Culture (Star Wars)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-17 11:01:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28598871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DopamineLover/pseuds/DopamineLover
Summary: Anakin isn’t just upset or angry. He is livid beyond belief. And he’ll be the first to admit it to the council, Jedi-way be damned. His experience with the Hutts? Are they kidding? Anakin’s experience with the Hutts is entirely summed up by beatings and whippings in Gardulla’s palace. At three years old. Going into the gangster's palace to return his slimy son is, honestly, a bad idea, even if he's fluent in Huttese. It's likely that Jabba will realize he was once a slave, and well, there goes any negotiation on Hutt trade routes.A slight addition to the scene in The Clone Wars movie where Anakin returns to Tatooine with baby Hutt.
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker & Ahsoka Tano, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 9
Kudos: 419





	Skywalker is a Slave Name

Anakin isn’t just upset or angry. He is livid beyond belief. And he’ll be the first to admit it to the council, jedi-way be damned. _His experience with the Hutts_? Are they kidding? This has to be some sort of joke. Anakin’s experience with the Hutts is summed up by beatings and whippings in Gardulla’s palace. At three years old. Definitely not some chit-chat diplomacy like the Jedi Masters had suggested. Granted, he doesn’t remember all that much of his time at Gardulla’s. But the few torturous memories of death and punishment and his long white scars on his back are enough reminders of hell for him. The physical reminder is enough to make sure he’ll never forget the cruelty of the Hutts.

So, you’ll have to excuse him if he’s a little upset with being sent to the one place he wishes to never see again. Jabba isn’t worth his time. And frankly, neither is his son. No gangster, no _depur_ , was worth it – regardless of their trade routes. Especially not ones so cruel and disgusting as the Hutts. How low has the Republic stepped to resort to alliances with the worst of lifeforms?

And to make matters worse, he’s been stuck with his brand new padawan pushing non-stop for answers about his life here on Tatooine since he came to the Temple so old. He doesn’t mind the curiosity, but can’t she take a hint and just drop it? He never even told Obi-Wan everything about life here, so what makes her think she’ll be told? It’s bad enough that he’s stuck marching through sand dunes in the godforsaken heat. If the Separatists don’t kill him, this just might. (Although, there is something comfortingly familiar with the heat from the twin suns. And something grounding from the gritty, harsh sand).

So, sure, maybe his emotions got the better of him a little bit. But Anakin thinks it’s excusable this one time. He only barged into Jabba’s palace because he assumed Ahsoka was already being held by the Hutt. It only takes a couple of minutes to get chipped. Less to be killed. But it’s not like his conversation with Jabba really would’ve gone any better if he calmly entered. It was always going to fail, and it was beyond his control.

“Mighty Jabba, General Skywalker has arrived,” the protocol droid announces his presence, bringing the entire room’s attention to Anakin. Which is fine. He’s used to it. Jedi cause quite the stir on nearly every mission. Except that Anakin’s never seen a Hutt with surprise on their ugly face. And he’s certain he doesn’t like what it means is coming.

“Skywalker?” Jabba exclaims, spittle flying. His deep Huttese echoes in the chamber. “That is a slave name!” Jabba’s laughter fills the room, followed by the rest of his guests joining. Anakin eyes them, bounty hunters, gangsters, and smugglers line the walls and bar stools. All of them laugh, keeping themselves in Jabba’s favor.

And then Anakin sees them: the slaves, his people. They watch him, eyes wide, if not recognizing him, then recognizing his name. _Ekkreth_ , they mouth. And the promise of his name hangs in the air, _the one who brings the rains_ , _freedom-bringer_. But he cannot help them. He’s here to fulfill his duty to the Order, to bring Jabba his miserable son and to find Ahsoka.

But Jabba’s laughter is a painful reminder. This will not go well. This is exactly what Anakin feared. His _experience with the Hutts_ is coming back to bite him. With a deep breath and the strength from his people behind him, he grinds his teeth and prepares to complete his mission. And honestly, just find Ahsoka.

“I am a Jedi knight, oh honorable Jabba,” Anakin replies in Huttese, his tongue thankfully remembering the vowels after years of disuse. “I am no slave. I am General Anakin Skywalker and I have come to negotiate and find where you have taken my padawan.” It goes against every bone in his body to give any respect to this disgusting _sleemo_. And yet, it was way too easy to fall back into this routine of speaking to slavers. Scarily easy. Anakin watches closely as Jabba considers him, inhaling from his pipe, before questioning him again.

“That is a name from long ago. The miserable slave boy that won a pod race. And lost me my prize”

Anakin lets the silence hang while Jabba continues to analyze him and fill the room with more disgusting smoke. He stares with the look all _depur_ would give him. One where they were calculating. Staring into your soul to find all your weak points. Finding where and how you will completely shatter. To bend you to their will.

It sets his body on edge, hairs standing up, but he desperately keeps his own stare. The one all slaves learned if they were to survive. One of courage, of dominance, and utter lack of fear of any _depur_. One where the raging desert, the power of _Leia_ , consume his eyes. He will not let anyone treat him as a slave any longer. He is free. He is a Jedi.

Anakin ignites his light saber, ready to fight Jabba and rid the Outer Rim of this tyrant. It will be a long over-due justice to kill this _depur_. What a waste of life.

“Master!”

Ahsoka’s call rips his gaze from Jabba. It’s like he can breathe again. She’s holding the baby, breathing heavily from running, with a look of relief on finding him in time. Thank _Ar-Armu_ , she’s not dead and she’s not captured.

“Your son, mighty Jabba, as promised,” Anakin announces, flipping his intentions on a dime. He beckons the protocol droid to gather the future- _depur_ from his padawan and extinguishes his lightsaber. He can feel Ahsoka’s curiosity and confusion prickle in the force, probably in his fluency in Huttese, maybe in his poorly hidden anger. But he has no time to address her.

“My boy!” Jabba cries, grabbing his baby slug. And it throws Anakin. Of all his years on Tatooine, he’s never seen love from a Hutt. If it’s even love.

“I hope that this may allow us to begin our negotiations on the use –”

“Silence!” Jabba cuts him off. “I refuse to negotiate with a slave! Tell your Jedi that they insult me by sending property to negotiate with me! And one that tried to kill my own son!” Jabba’s spit flies towards Anakin. The man’s fury is palpable in the room, but it’s nothing he hasn’t seen before. Nor is the clear fear in the other true slaves of the room within the Force. But Anakin doesn’t give himself the luxury of fear, this is what he was ready for. He knew this mission to this hellhole would go sideways sooner or later.

“You will die for your disrespect and assassination attempt!”

And that’s really all Anakin needed to hear. He ignites his lightsaber once more, Snips following his lead and igniting her own, ready to defend from his back.

But then, he never gets the chance to cut down the slug because of his wife’s perfectly timed call to Jabba. Her face alone is comforting, but her effect on Jabba is even more welcome. Something about his uncle, some more about Separatist treachery. And then, believe it or not, Jabba calls off his guests and workers. He believed Padme. Her diplomacy skills, which Anakin never seemed to pick up, were impeccable. If she didn’t call, Anakin or Ahsoka might have died. But he also never gets the chance to slice that ugly slug head right off and burn this _depur’s_ palace to the ground. Talk about living up to his name. He could’ve brought freedom to a third of the slaves on Tatooine.

But instead, Anakin walks out of the Hutt’s lair with the negotiation settled, trade routes secured. And all because of Padme. Thank _Ar-Armu_ for his wife. But Anakin can’t quite meet the eyes of the other slaves in the room. He can feel their pity, their awe, and worse yet, their understanding. Their gaze hangs on him even as he meets Obi-Wan and Grandmaster Yoda. Even as they rejoin the 501st and 212th on the ship.

It’s a slightly sharp kick under the table to his shin that causes him to take a deep breath again, to recognize his surroundings. Right, right. The debrief. He’s in a debrief with Obi-Wan and Master Yoda. Right, Obi-Wan must’ve kicked him.

The rude jerk back into the real-world strips him of all his adrenaline. It’s replaced with tremors throughout his entire body, except for his mechanical hand. He can feel the remains of his confidence drop. He knows his fellow jedi will notice, they’re too aware and too skilled to ignore it. He tries his best to stop the fear threatening to fill him. They would certainly notice it and reprimand him for it. But he has to fight against the memories that attempt to overtake him. They flutter in his mind. Of his mother’s death, of his actions. Of the Hutts and their cruelty. Of the punishments and deaths he’s seen since he was born at the hands of _depur_.

Anakin ducks his head as Obi-Wan continues his summary of Ventress. His eyes flit from Obi-Wan’s hands and nose (never the eyes, _depur_ never allow eye contact), and he begins to fidget slightly in his seat. The fidgeting makes the shakiness of his hands and body increase. And he can’t even recognize himself subconsciously shrinking into his seat. He hasn’t done that since his early padawan days.

“Anakin?” Obi-Wan’s call pulls Anakin’s head back up. Right, the debrief. Get it together, Skywalker. Anakin catches Obi-Wan’s eyes before quickly pulling away to his hands and nose again.

“Yes, master?” But it sounds all wrong. The inflection, the tone, the hint of fear and surrender. The utter defeat it holds is something he hasn’t heard since his slavery. Something he would hear from Mom and the other slaves as they spoke to Watto, or their own masters.

The look on Obi-Wan’s face tells Anakin that he heard it too. Not that either he or Master Yoda would understand, but Obi-Wan heard it from Anakin’s early padawan days.

“Are you alright?” Obi-Wan asks first, the debrief entirely halted. He can see that Obi-Wan already knows the answer, can already tell what must be going through his former padawan’s mind.

“Sense great fear in you, I do, young Skywalker,” Yoda adds, eyeing up the knight. At Anakin’s lack of response – he will never discuss his previous life with anyone other than Obi-Wan or Padme – Yoda continues, “Unpleasant your encounter with Jabba was, hmmm?”

“Did something go wrong, Anakin? Or is it the general hot air of Tatooine?” Obi-Wan chimes in, leaning further into the table as if trying to reach out to his former padawan, who should by all means still be a padawan in age alone. The levity in his question falls flat. And Anakin knows he’ll have to admit something to the both of them.

“Jabba remembered me,” is all he can get out. It’s barely above a whisper and it almost burns his throat as he says it. He can feel the blood drain from his face and yet still heat up his ears in embarrassment. He is not a fan of remembering or reminding the masters of his past. At his failure to elaborate, Obi-Wan steps in.

“What do you mean, ‘remember’? You’ve met Jabba before?” Anakin dares to meet both Jedi masters’ eyes. And while it’s less than a second each, he finds the concerned confusion on Obi-Wan and the resigned sadness on Master Yoda’s. Anakin shakes his head before ducking to stare at his own hands, where metal fingers intertwine and fiddle with organic. It feels like sand is still stuck under his fingernails.

“He uh, he remembered my name. He remembered from Boonta Eve. And he said,” Anakin takes a shaky breath, “He knew Skywalker as a slave name.”

He’s met with silence. But maybe this is his moment to prevent his ever dealing with Jabba again. After all, the gangster might cut off ties with the Republic if he’s to negotiate with a slave again. Steeling his nerves, and shaking his childhood horror, he looks Obi-Wan in the eyes. He may crumple if he meets Yoda’s.

“I don’t think I should deal with the Hutts. They know I’m a slave – uh, once a slave,” he corrects. “To them, I’m no Jedi. If it weren’t for Senator Amidala, Jabba would’ve never accepted a negotiation with the Republic. If he didn’t try to kill us, he probably would’ve returned me to Gardulla and sold Ahsoka. The Hutts will not negotiate with a slave. Property is not allowed to talk to them.”

It’s the flash of anger from his normally emotionless master across their never severed training bond that surprises him.

“Why would he take you to Gardulla the Hutt?” Clearly, Obi-Wan has more to comment on what Anakin said. Probably their old argument about Anakin’s personhood. But this question surprises him.

“To return her property.” Obviously. It may not exist on Coruscant, but the basic idea of slavery should be easy to process.

“You mean to tell me that you were enslaved by a Hutt? And that you still went on this mission?”

“Uh, Obi-Wan, there wasn’t much option. I was told to go, I went, and now I’m telling you why it was a bad idea. But yeah, Gardulla lost my mother and I to Watto in a bet when I was three or four. I thought you knew?” Did they seriously not know? He thought he’d heard Mom tell Qui-Gon that.

“A grave error we have made, Knight Skywalker. Many apologies the Council owes. Again, with Jabba, you shall never negotiate.” Master Yoda closes his eyes, seemingly pondering his next words. “More cautious we should have been. Of Gardulla’s ownership, know we did not.” He gets up from his chair, to exit the room and leave Obi-Wan to deal with the Council’s mess.

“Anakin, are you okay?” Obi-Wan gets up to sit next to Anakin. He suddenly feels like a padawan again. But he’s a General now. A Jedi Knight. Anakin isn’t allowed this luxury. Obi-Wan may be his brother and mentor, but he’s never been a slave on Tatooine. He won’t understand the fear of entering a slaver’s palace, of being treated like property again after ten years.

“I’m fine, Obi-Wan.” He really doesn’t need his former master babying him, but the calmness that he’s projecting to Anakin through their training bond really helps. And ok, when Obi-Wan pulls him closer with an arm around his shoulders, that’s nice too. It reminds him of when he was first at the Temple, always adjusting to his new life on Coruscant.

Obi-Wan is used to the lies from his former padawan and leaves this one with no response. He lets the comfortable silence hang between them and continues to hold his former padawan. He notices but doesn’t acknowledge the few tears that escape Anakin’s control, except for holding him a little closer, sending more comfort and calm through their bond. Sure, he might be a Knight now and an accomplished General, but Anakin is still only nineteen. If this is the only way that Obi-Wan can help his padawan during the war, then he’s happy to be there, even if Anakin manages to get snot on his robes.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! I used my very limited knowledge on Tatooine slave culture from what I've read on here.


End file.
